Beloved radio friends, in the precious and worthy name of the Lord Jesus, humbly but gratefully we greet you and welcome you to the continued ministry of God's precious and holy word. Our present theme of study is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Particularly do we begin today the consideration of one of the unique ministries of the Holy Spirit in this age. and that is his ministry of baptizing. We take the reading of the scripture from the second chapter of the book of Acts, reading verses one through four. This is a record that has been written concerning the Holy Spirit coming into the world on the day of Pentecost. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as a fire. And it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. May God the Spirit bless the reading of this precious portion of His Word. Most of all, we humbly, but very earnestly, with dependence, look to God by His Spirit to give us the interpretation and the meaning of these scriptures that will be for our blessing and our divine instruction. We have already noted in regard to the ministry of the Holy Spirit that He is in the earth and upon the earth to do a ministry of convicting lost souls of their need of a Saviour. We also rejoice that He is here to do a ministry of regenerating, that is imparting eternal life as God's gift and blessing to all those who believe upon his beloved Son. We have also noted that the coming of the Holy Spirit began a ministry of indwelling, that he takes up his dwelling place in the heart and soul of every believer. We too have noted that he has a ministry of feeling, as we noted from Ephesians one thirteen and thirteen and fourteen as well as from second Corinthians chapter one that it is his work to seal the believer and thus secure every believer until the day of eternal glory when Christ returns to obtain and take to himself his purchased possession now we come to touch upon a ministry that has undoubtedly caused confusion among the ranks of professing Christians. His ministry of baptizing. I am frank to state that without question of doubt, more Christians are ignorant of what the Holy Spirit did on the day of Pentecost when thus he came from heaven above. Let us be reminded that the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost of this world was a unique experience. Never before in human history had the Spirit of God come to the earth to make his abode upon it. But during the age of the Church, beginning with Pentecost, and consonating with the blessed coming of the Lord for his saints, which we sometimes call the rapture. The Spirit of God is present and abiding upon the earth. This abiding of the Spirit upon the earth was not known in the preceding periods of time. Yes, I do know that he came upon certain believers, I do know that he participated in every divine undertaking of God, as recorded in the Old Testament and even in the Gospel. But there is a unique ministry that began on the day of Pentecost. Now I would like you to note particularly in the scriptures that we have read from the second chapter of this book of Acts, which is an historical book. It does not specially teach. the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in regard to many truths about Him. For the doctrine of the Holy Spirit we will find and do find taught in other portions of Scripture, even in the Gospel of John by the Lord Jesus, and particularly in the epistles that follow the Book of the Acts. But in the Book of the Acts we have the practical doctrine of the Holy Spirit exhibited by His presence and power when he came to the earth. Now the words that we have read from Acts chapter two can be called the historical event of the Holy Spirit's coming to the earth on that memorable day of Pentecost. This took place fifty days approximately and that is where the word Pentecost in the Greek language represents the time element between the death of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the earth. Fifty days after the death of Christ, a new dispensation of a divine testimony on the earth then commenced. Now in our brief study, we would like to consider the various aspects of the Holy Spirit's appearance on the day of Pentecost as to just what happened in the account that we have read relating to his coming to the earth. Now there are many believers, and I say it very reservedly and unfortunately, there are many believers that only see one aspect of the Spirit's coming to the earth. And they are entirely occupied, unfortunately, or for the greater part. They are occupied with what they call the baptism of the Spirit with the speaking in tongues. Now let's look at the Scripture carefully and consider just what did happen on that day of Pentecost. Now I am going to mention and prove from the Word of God that there were five specific things. that took place when the Holy Spirit came into the world and to the disciples who were in the upper room on that day of Pentecost. First, there was the fulfillment of a promise. The promise had been given by the Lord Jesus himself, and the promise had also been stated by the Father. In John chapter fourteen and verse sixteen, the Saviour said, And I will pray the Father, and he will send you another comforter, meaning one like myself. So that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descending from heaven was fulfilling what the Father promised through the voice and words of his Son, another divine person, And also fulfilling, as we have suggested, even the promise of the Savior Himself, where we read in John chapter fifteen and verse twenty-six. But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you. Now you will find in the Gospels many references to the coming of the Holy Spirit. And every reference to the Holy Spirit coming to the earth, was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. And especially the fulfillment of the promise the Father had given and the Son he himself had given to. Now this promise that the Father and the Son would send the Holy Spirit, we repeat with emphasis, it was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Now my fellow believer and anyone interested who may not be a believer, the Holy Spirit cannot come again. He is here. He has been here upon the earth ever since Pentecost. And the promise of the Father and the Son has been accomplished. It is absolutely in great error and a mistake that is tragic. for anyone, and particularly a believer, to ask God to send another Pentecost, meaning send the Holy Spirit. My beloved, never ask for the Holy Spirit to be sent. The promise of the Father, the promise of the Son, has been fulfilled. The greatest evidence of this fact is the whole book of the Acts. I believe one of the greatest truths, the greatest of all truths in the book of the Acts, with its historical record, is the plain indication and clear evidence the Spirit of God was upon the earth operating, working, performing his responsibilities in response to the Father and to the Son in heaven sending into the earth to do his specific work. Now I wish to repeat this, for I am well aware that there are many ignorant believers who claim they should seek another Pentecost, or they should seek in their own experience another descent of the Holy Spirit upon themselves and into their lives. Beloved, you are insulting the promise of the Father and the Son when you pray in such a manner. So that is the first fact we would emphasize was fulfilled on that day of Pentecost. As we have read, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind filling all the house where the disciples were seated. And that mighty wind was the outward evidence of that inward reality, as we often have sung in the past, the comforter has come. Beloved, do you believe it? Father, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus, make this solemn but precious truth real. unacceptable to all thy people in Jesus' name. Amen.